Ford Ranger vs Citroen Berlingo

What's the difference?

The Ford Ranger XL 4x2 Double Cab combines strong performance with a one-tonne-plus payload rating, 3500kg towing ability, spacious cabin and excellent ride/handling.

However, it could be even better without the penny-pinching evident in the lack of rear passenger air-vents/USB etc found in some 4x2 rivals. Even so, for workhorse buyers, there’s plenty to like here.

Given Citroen’s proud heritage of innovation, the Berlingo has a few unique and quirky features, but is overall quite conventional in its design and performance (though in a well thought-out and practical package).

With sub-$20K run-out pricing, it should have plenty of appeal for commercial customers, as it costs much less than its major rivals yet offers a superior payload.

All Ranger XL 4x2s are called ‘Hi-Riders’ as they share the same ride height as their 4x4 siblings. As a result, they also benefit from the same ground clearance/approach/departure angles, which can be handy if there's some rugged terrain in your line of work.

Braking is a front disc/rear drum combination but you’d struggle to feel the difference between this and the four-wheel discs of higher-grade models, given how well Ford has refined the set-up over the years.

The Ranger XL is a chrome-free zone as you'd expect, with the interior featuring many shades of grey and a conspicuous number of plastic caps in places where buttons/switches are found in more luxurious variants.

Even so, the cabin is neat and functional for this role. Rear seat space is excellent, even for tall people like me (186cm). There’s also ample headroom, which contributes to the spacious feel.

Our only gripes are the absence of air-vents and a USB port in the rear of the centre console, which come standard in rivals like Isuzu’s D-Max SX.

The smallest Berlingo rides on a front-wheel-drive, 2728mm wheelbase with an overall length of 4380mm and width of 1810mm. Compared to the Caddy, the Berlingo is 46mm longer in wheelbase, 28mm shorter and 37mm wider.

Suspension features MacPherson struts up front and a tidy trailing arm arrangement at the rear, which is well designed for carrying heavy loads. Steering is via power-assisted rack and pinion and four-wheel disc brakes provide reassuringly strong braking. The turning circle is a compact 11.0 metres.

The cabin and cargo bay are separated by a removable grey vinyl screen, with a large clear section in the upper half to allow rear vision for the driver. Citroen says this screen is primarily to reduce air-conditioning requirements, which in turn reduces the A/C load on the engine to optimise performance and fuel economy. 

It’s also claimed to (slightly) reduce noise intrusion from the cargo bay, which is mostly caused by tyre roar through the rear wheel arches. However, Citroen has taken a commendable step in trying to muffle these noise paths by surrounding each wheel arch with large plastic mouldings which are claimed to contain sound-absorbing material.

Glazed rear barn doors with wiper/washer and 180-degree opening, plus solid sliding side doors, are standard issue. The barn doors also feature an asymmetrical design (one wide, one narrow) to off-set the centre pillars and reduce the large blind spot they create in the rear-view mirror. 

The cabin layout is simple and functional with decent-sized door mirrors, although the kerb side would benefit from a wide-angle lens due to a big blind spot for the driver created by the solid side door. The fold-down inboard arm-rest is a nice touch and the cabin is quite spacious, although tall drivers will find the left footrest too high for a comfortable leg position.

Thanks to its relatively light 2093kg kerb weight, our test vehicle’s 3250kg GVM allows for an impressive 1157kg payload rating.

It’s also rated to tow up to the category-benchmark 3500kg of braked trailer and given its big 6200kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) that would still leave a generous payload capacity of more than 600kg.

These are strong numbers well suited to a variety of heavy-hauling tasks.

The load tub’s floor is 1547mm long and 1584mm wide with 1224mm between the wheel housings, allowing it to carry an 1165mm-square Aussie pallet which can be secured using a choice of six load-anchorage points (three each side).

A steel-framed bulkhead doubles as robust protection for the cabin’s rear window and a handy place on which to lean and secure items that are too long to fit in the tub.

Its flush-fitting load retainers can pivot and lock into a vertical position on each side, to effectively ‘book-end’ loads when securing them.

The tub has internal lighting thanks to small but bright LEDs embedded in the sidewalls. These are welcome not only when accessing the tub at night or in poorly-lit internal spaces, but also if it's fitted with a hard tonneau cover.

There are concave side-steps behind the rear wheels, which make accessing the load tub easier and safer than standing on top of the tyres as owners often do, because if they're wet or muddy it’s easy to slip off.

Six plastic caps (three each side) along the top edges of the sidewalls can be removed to provide access to internal mounting points for numerous structures, like ladder racks.

The top edge of the tailgate incorporates a 1.3-metre ruler and a pair of spring-loaded ‘trapdoors’ which provide access to the tailgate’s internal cavity.

This allows for the use of G-clamps, which can be inserted into these holes when using the open tailgate as a workbench to clamp materials in place when cutting, drilling, sanding, etc.

Front-of-cabin storage includes dual bottle holders and a bin in each door, plus an overhead glasses holder and, on the passenger’s side, an open shelf with glove box below.

The centre console has open storage up front, a pair of small-bottle/cupholders in the centre and a lidded-box at the back which doubles as a driver’s elbow rest.

Rear seat passengers get a bottle holder and bin in each door, another bin in the rear of the centre console and a pocket on the front passenger seat’s backrest, but with no fold-down centre armrest there are no dedicated cupholders.

The one-piece seat base can also swing up and be stored vertically if more internal luggage space is required, or to access two large underfloor storage compartments.

The Berlingo’s 1433kg kerb weight and 2150kg GVM would normally result in a 717kg payload. However, Citroen’s official payload figure is 133kg higher, at a class-leading 850kg, because PSA calculates kerb weights differently to the norm (typically French). So, 75kg of that can be carried on the roof when shared across three racks with the mounting points provided.

Its robust 3250kg GCM allows up to 1100kg of braked trailer to be towed without any reduction in payload. Citroen states that this GCM applies up to a maximum altitude of 1000 metres above sea level, with a 10 per cent reduction for each additional 1000 metres. So keep those stats in mind if you’re heading for Mount Kosciuszko.

The cargo bay, which offers 3.3 cubic metres of load volume (or 3.7 with passenger sear folded), has a floor length of 1800mm and a roomy 1229mm between the wheel arches. This means it can carry one 1160mm-square standard Aussie pallet, easily loaded with a forklift through the rear barn doors and held in place by six tie-down points. There’s also internal lighting, a 12-volt outlet and sturdy ladder-frame cargo barrier behind the driver. Nothing for the passenger, though.

Cabin storage options include two pockets and a combined cup/bottle holder in each door. There’s also a large lidded compartment and two open bins set into the dash-top, two circular storage slots in the centre display plus two smaller pockets below and beside the gearstick; the latter a slim-line 'holster' complete with USB port.

The single glovebox has two-tier storage, and there’s a full-width cabin shelf overhead. The centre console, which is a module that can be unlocked and removed if you want floor space between the seats, has a cup holder at the front, a big internal storage area with sliding lid in the centre and two cup/small bottle holders at the rear. There’s also lots of vacant space for additional storage under both seats.

The Citroen Berlingo range comprises three models; the L1 Short Body Manual, L2 Long Body Manual and L2 Long Body Semi-Automatic.

Our test vehicle was the L1 Short Body Manual (aka M Confort VTi), which, with a 1.6-litre petrol engine and five-speed manual gearbox, is normally $22,990. This compares favourably with the Kangoo L1 SWB (1.2-litre petrol/six-speed manual) at $23,990, and is a huge 24 per cent saving over the Caddy TSI220 SWB (1.4-litre petrol/seven-speed dual-clutch auto) at $30,390. 

However, the Berlingo’s run-out price is now a bargain basement $19,990 drive-away, so you’ll save even more up front, plus be eligible for an immediate tax deduction if you're a business owner.

Given it’s a commercial van, our Berlingo came with all the usual visual cues of a hard worker, like the solid white body colour with contrasting black bumpers, door mirrors, handles and side rubbing strips, plus black hub caps inside 15-inch steel wheels with 195/65 R15 Michelin tyres and a matching spare. However, the cabin does at least get floor carpet.

Its standard equipment list includes useful stuff like a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors (essential in any van with solid side doors), guide-me-home headlights, height/reach adjustable steering wheel, RDS stereo sound system with a 7.0-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity options (including Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth), cruise control with adjustable speed limiter, one-touch electric front windows and more.

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel with single turbocharger produces a healthy 125kW at 3500rpm and 405Nm of torque between 1750-2500rpm, which exceeds the outputs of 2.4-litre HiLux and 1.9-litre D-Max diesel rivals.

This engine is paired with a six-speed torque converter automatic, which offers the choice of sequential manual-shifting using a small thumb-operated toggle on the side of the shift-lever.

This can be handy when carrying and/or towing heavy loads, particularly in hilly terrain to minimise gear-hunting.

The Euro 6-compliant 1.6-litre multi-point fuel-injected four-cylinder petrol engine is conspicuously rev-happy for a commercial vehicle, as evidenced by its tachometer which displays rpm increments all the way up to 7000rpm - with no redline.

The needle has to reach 6000rpm to access the engine’s relatively modest maximum power of 72kW (less than Kangoo/Caddy, which are both turbos), with peak torque of 152Nm (also less) at a relatively high 3500rpm. It also requires 95-octane fuel.

The five-speed manual gearbox has useful spread of ratios for both city/suburban delivery work and load hauling on the highway.

Ford claims official average combined cycle consumption of 7.8L/100km.

When we stopped to refuel at the end of our 493km test, which included a mix of suburban and highway driving of which about one fifth was carrying a heavy payload, the dash display was claiming 8.5L/100km.

This was very close to our own figure of 9.3, calculated from fuel bowser and trip meter readings, which confirmed thrifty single-digit economy in real-world driving conditions.

So, based on our own figures, the test vehicle should achieve an impressive driving range of around 860km from its big 80-litre tank.

Our Berlingo achieved a combined figure of 7.2L/100km over a distance of 422km on a variety of roads and with different loads, including near-maximum GVM. Impressively, that was line-ball with the official combined figure of 7.1. With its 60-litre tank, you could expect a realistic driving range of 580-600km.

It’s easy to climb aboard with big assist-handles on the A and B pillars to compensate for the absence of side-steps.

The driving position is comfortable and spacious, with ample manual adjustments available in the seat and steering wheel.

It may be a back-to-basics workhorse but refinements in the latest Ranger generation have not been compromised.

The unladen ride quality is undeniably firm but still commendable, even on bumpy roads, given its leaf-spring rear axle and big payload rating.

The relatively light 4x2 kerb weight ensures brisk acceleration from standing starts, combined with steering feel that arguably remains the class benchmark.

We forklifted 890kg into the tub which with driver (and towing pack) was more than one tonne of payload.

The rear leaf springs compressed 50mm under this weight, but there was no chance of bottoming-out because of the rear suspension design that has long cone-shaped jounce rubbers that engage with the springs early in their compression.

This eliminates the hard thumps at full travel like traditional bump-stops and provide what is effectively a second stage of load support. The result is a smooth ride under maximum loads, regardless of road conditions.

The Ranger has ample performance in busy suburban driving and excels at highway speeds, with low engine, tyre and wind noise highlighting its excellent noise suppression.

It also made light work of hauling this load up our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km set climb at 60km/h, self-shifting down to third gear to easily reach the summit with minimal accelerator required.

Engine braking on the way down, in a manually-selected second gear, wasn’t as robust but typical of small displacement turbo-diesels trying to restrain big loads on steep descents.

The only negative was an alert that appeared on the driver’s info display, warning of a ‘front camera malfunction’ that would require servicing.

As a result, we were without pre-collision assist, adaptive cruise control or speed-limiter functions for the remainder of our test run, which fortunately occurred on the final day of our loan.

The first thing we noticed was the relatively low cargo-bay noise, combined with low wind and engine noise. The ride quality was firm but acceptable without a load, and the steering responsive and linear in weight, with a strong self-centering effect ensuring good directional stability. 

The slick-shifting manual gearshift was nice to use, with well-defined gates and a light clutch action. Braking response was strong, but four discs designed to cope with a 3250kg GCM could bite hard if you pressed too firmly without a load.

With maximum torque at 3500rpm and peak power at 6000rpm, the 1.6-litre non-turbo engine responded best around town when kept revving freely between those two numbers. Although torque started to fall away sharply below 1800rpm, a useful amount remained between 1800-3500rpm, as evidenced by 2750rpm at 100km/h and 3000rpm at 110km/h in top gear on the highway.

With 600kg in the cargo bay plus a 100kg driver, our 700kg payload was 150kg below GVM. Handling and ride quality with this load was excellent, particularly over large bumps and on heavily patched bitumen roads. Braking was also reassuringly strong and it continued to track straight in cross-winds at highway speeds.

The engine’s rev-happy nature was noticeable on our 2.0km, 13 per cent gradient set climb with this load, finding its sweet spot in second gear at 3750rpm - which it happily pulled all the way to the top. Engine braking on the way down was non-existent, but the powerful brakes easily covered this shortfall.

No ANCAP rating here, but a LHD diesel version with dual airbags achieved four stars when tested by Euro NCAP in 2009. Evidence that our local model is aimed at cost-cutting fleet buyers is a front airbag and cargo barrier for driver only, with passenger front airbag and side airbags for both sides only available as optional extras. There’s no AEB either, but you do get an electronic stability control program with traction control and hill start assist, plus a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors.

Warranty is five years/unlimited km.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first.

Capped-price servicing for the first five scheduled services totals $1911 or an average of $382 per service.

A three-year/100,000km warranty includes roadside assistance, plus there’s a five-year anti-corrosion warranty. Scheduled servicing is 12 months/20,000km, whichever occurs first. There is also fixed pricing for the first three scheduled services of $416 (12 months/20,000km), $777 (24 months/40,000km) and $416 (36 months/60,000km).